Finnish company Raisio, the parent company of Benecol, has announced that the vice president of its Confectionery business, Sakari Kotka, has resigned from the company.
It has reported that Kotka, who is also a member of the company’s Group Management Team is leaving immediately.
Starting 15 May 2017, Raisio’s local directors in the UK and Czech confectionery businesses are reporting directly to chief executive Jarmo Puputti until further notice.
Puputti has been the interim-CEO since his predecessor, Matti Rihko, resigned from his position at the start of the year. Rihko had held the position of CEO at Raisio since November 2006.
Decline
Earlier this year, the group announced net sales of €436.3 million for 2016, which was €521.2 million for 2015.
In addition to this, it also posted an 18.9% decrease in net sales in its first quarter, to €92.5 million.
Raisio is best known for brands such as Benecol, Benemilk, Elovena, Fox’s and Poppets.
Source: European Supermarket Magazine
Schumacher will replace Alan Jope, who announced his decision to retire last September, less than a year after a failed attempt by Unilever to buy GlaxoSmithKline’s consumer healthcare business and just months after activist investor Nelson Peltz joined the company’s board.
Globally, plant-based ice creams have doubled their share of the market over the last five years, according to Tetra Pack. Pea protein and coconut milk are leading the way, but Tetra Pak cites data showing that oat-based ice cream launches have doubled in the previous year.
A myriad of so-called eco-labels are being rolled out across various F&B products, but with no gold standard or strict rules governing precisely what the logos mean and what methodology is behind them, concerns are growing that they will confuse consumers and ultimately be counterproductive.